The lord’s Prayer is one of the most popular extracts of the bible with important lessons for every believer.
What is the Lord’s prayer?
The Lord’s prayer is one of the most said prayers in the world. It is often used in schools, corporate organizations, social groups, individual prayers, and more typically, Christian gatherings like churches. In 2007, on Easter Sunday alone, it is believed that more than 2 Billion people around the world recited this prayer.
Now, what is the Lord’s prayer? For those who don’t already possess the knowledge of it, in this article, we will see what the Lord’s prayer is, its biblical context, and its structure.
The Lord’s Prayer
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
Biblical Context of the Lord’s Prayer
The scriptural reference of the Lord’s prayer above is from the Holy Bible, in the book of Matthew 6:9-13. In this chapter, Jesus teaches his disciples on the mount how they should pray. The message is also for all Christians in general.
According to the Lord Jesus Christ, we shouldn’t be like the hypocrites who pray to impress people or think they can manipulate God. Instead, he charges us to pray in a simple manner, in genuine submission and recognition of God as our heavenly father.
The Structure of the Lord’s Prayer
To help us better understand The Lord’s prayer, we will look at it from a structure of five sections.
Addressing God as Father
The Lord’s prayer starts with “Our Father which art in heaven…” and with this, Jesus teaches Christians that we, by virtue of him, are children of God, our parent in heaven. This fact is restated by Paul the apostle who directs believers to address God as “Abba,” meaning Father or Daddy in Aramaic.
Hallowing God’s Name
In this prayer, “Hallowed be thy name” is a reminder to us Christians that God is not a mortal with flaws like us, God is pure and without blemish.
Kingdom and Will of God
The Kingdom of God is the ultimate order of things, and as such, we pray that God’s Kingdom and his will be done here on earth. By this request, we sought to align our earthly will with that of God in heaven, and part that his way triumphs in our lives.
Daily Bread And Forgiveness
God is our provider, and because of this, we are at his mercy. We need God in every phase of our lives, every day as long as we live. But to continue enjoying these benefits in Christ, we need to be far from sin, and continuously ask for his forgiveness. The Lord’s prayer also encourages us to have a forgiving spirit even as humans.
Deliverance From Temptation And Evil
The last request of the Lord’s prayer asks God that he take us away from every temptation we can not handle. While temptation is not a wrong occurrence, giving in to temptation is. Therefore, we need the spirit of God to deliver us from all evil and help us flee from temptation.
Salient Lessons from the Lord’s Prayer
1. To start with, when we pray, there is a need to first acknowledge and thank God emphatically for His favours and mercifulness, with an expectation that He answers when we call unto Him. Jer.33:3
2. The Lord’s prayer and a believer’s prayer are a means of interactivity with the heavenly Father. It’s one powerful channel to make our request known to our God.
Philippians 4: 6 says “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
3. Another salient lesson we need to pay attention to from the Lord’s prayer is Christ’s teaching and giving us a special prayer model as seen in Matthew 6:9, this serves as a pattern and template to render an effective prayer to the Father. Also in James 5: 16 the Bible connotes that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”
4. We pray to the Father through Christ our Lord. This was made clear also in John 14: 6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” When we pray, we need to come to the understanding that Christ is the connecting stream and the way to the Father. This is also stressing on the importance of the relationship between the Father and the Children.
5. He is our Heavenly Father. The prayer begins by recognizing the spiritual Fatherhood we have in God It establishes a relationship and a sense of connection that is divinely purposed by God Himself.
6. Hallowing the name of God and holding it in high honour and regard. When we pray as believers we are taught by the Lord’s prayer to honour and hallow God’s name, this is to show reverence and respect and worship to the Father.
7. The words “Thy Kingdom come” expressly underscores the singular pursuit of every believer which is seeking and pursuing the kingdom of God, both externally and internally.
8. Doing the Father’s Will promptly in absolute obedience to God is a key aspect of an effective prayer to the Father, we need to always align our actions with God’s desires.
9. Praying with Consciousness. When we pray, we need to pray with the consciousness that our Heavenly Father is present in His sovereignty, all all-powerfulness, and our commitment is to be submissive to Him. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
10. Establishing Relationship in Prayer: Prayer is not just communication with God as the Creator but as a Father, emphasizing the relational aspect.
11. The prayer also reflects our dual relationship with the Father. As we are children to the Father, we are also is kingly subjects, this truly highlights the multifaceted nature of our divinely purposed connection with God the Father.
12. The Lord’sprayer stresses the need for genuine repentance and salvation by grace. For us to be a child of the heavenly Father, there must have been an encounter with Christ by believing in His atoning work of grace done on Calvary’s cross followed by turning away from a life sin (repentance).
13. Also is a need for Separation from darkness and worldliness. 2 Corinthians 6:14 stresses the need for believers to live a separate life from darkness and sin to become children of God. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
14. Acknowledging and recognising God as a Spiritual Fatherhood is important for an effective prayer life that transcends earthly relationships.
15. The Lord’s prayer is a pattern and template by Christ teaching us how to truly pray to the Father. We are to follow the pattern of Christ’s prayer ensuring that our heavenly Father always hears us when we pray, this helps to build our confidence in answers to prayers.
16. “Our Father, which art in Heaven” ascertain the importance and the recognition of heaven as our ultimate destination and origin as believers.
17. Asking the Father for Daily bread is a way to demonstrate our dependency on God our provider- Jehovah Jireh (Gen. 22 vs 14). A part of our supplication to the Father where we request daily bread goes beyond physical sustenance and daily provisions to cater for ourselves and our families, it also encompasses spiritual nourishment and utter dependence on God the Father.
18. The Lord’s prayer exemplifies that we receive forgiveness and pardon from trespasses (sins) from the Father. This illustrates the reciprocal Forgiving nature of the Father.
19. Believers are to live one day at a time, this exactly is the concept of praying for daily bread. This is to discourage every form of anxiety about the future and foster a sense of trust in the almightiness of God to provide for our needs in each passing day. Matthew 6 :34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its things. Sufficient for the day is its trouble.”
20. Jesus truly is The Bread of Life. The bread in the prayer represents not only physical sustenance but also points us to Christ as the bread of life.
21. More than the initial forgiveness that we receive there’s a continuous need for spiritual forgiveness and sanctification in the life of a believer. 1 John 2: 1 and 2: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
22. The Lord’s prayer also constitutes the plea not to be led into temptation and delivered from evil. This enunciates the believers’ need for conscious awareness of potential pitfalls and the need for divine guidance to navigate them all while remaining steadfast.
23. We are to learn from the mistake of Lot. Lot’s life should serve us as a cautionary illustration of the consequences of not seeking God’s guidance and will in the decisions that we make.
24. We are to live promptly in God’s Will. The prayer Emphasizes the promptness and immediacy in doing the will of the Father, drawing parallels with how the angels in heaven obey and bow before Him.
25. There is a need for us to prioritize the will of God in our lives. Giving priority to the will of the Father and aligning our desires with His will is essential for an effective prayer life.
26. Oh! I love the concluding affirmation of His Power and Kingdom, “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,” this succinctly acknowledges God’s ultimate authority and dominion over all.
27. Believers are to learn from the pride of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride which ultimately led to his fall serves as a reminder to acknowledge God’s kingdom, power, and glory without undergoing suffering and manifesting any form of contention against it.
28. We are also to look forward to Christ’s Reign. Believers are to express a living hope in assurance of the second coming of Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to establish His reign on Earth.
29. Affirmation and Assurance Through “Amen”. The repetition of “amen” in prayer as exemplified by Christ himself in the Lord’s Prayer signifies affirmation, assurance, and the believers’ agreement with the content of their prayers.
30. Finally, we need to understand the impact prayer has on our personality. There’s a significant emphasis for believers to maintain a consistent prayer
life. The transformative power of an effective prayer life is the bedrock of our daily communion with the Father.
